Paul Lambert, the Norwich manager, today distanced himself from suggestions that he could be poised to succeed Owen Coyle at Burnley.

As lawyers working for Bolton Wanderers and Burnley continued to haggle over the compensation deal which will finally free Coyle to begin his new job at the Reebok Stadium, Lambert became a bookmakers' favourite for the Turf Moor vacancy.

Yet this betting rush – concentrated on bookmakers' in the Bolton and Glasgow areas on Thursday night – seemed wholly out of step with the former Scotland international's stated intentions.

"I love it here at Carrow Road," said Lambert yesterday. "I've got a great rapport with the people here. I'm not going anywhere."

Bolton, whose game at Sunderland tomorrow has been postponed due to adverse weather in the north-east, may have to wait until early next-week to reach a settlement with Burnley and thereby free Coyle from his period of gardening leave.

While Barry Kilby, Burnley's chairman, wants £3m compensation for the departure his former manager his counterpart at Bolton, Phil Gartside, is unwilling to pay much more than £1m.

Meanwhile, Chris Evans remains in caretaker charge at the Reebok. "I've been given no indication as to when any manager is coming in," Evans said.

As tensions between the two Lancashire rivals have heightened, Kilby suggested that Bolton's higher budget for salaries and transfers masks greater liabilites. "I told Owen they have £44m of bank debt but we have none," said Kilby. "I think Bolton can say a lot of tempting things to attract Owen Coyle but whether they can deliver on them I think history will tell.

"But Owen wanted to work with a bigger budget and he obviously felt they had a better chance of staying up than Burnley. Obviously Owen's mindset is that he doesn't want to risk being in the Championship."